Hey all. Capone in Chicago here. I'm afraid what I have to say about THE GOLDEN COMPASS isn't quite as kind as some of my fellow staffers here on the site. Brace yourselves for a mild case of dissension.

About this time last year, I received a very nice booklet from New Line previewing THE GOLDEN COMPASS. It had big, gorgeous photos of the principle cast members and little write-ups about each character. I know people that worship these books with a Potter-like passion, but the fact is that I never got very excited about this film. Something about it looked sterile or derivative or generally uninteresting to me, but at the time, the film wasn't due for a year, so I assumed the enthusiasm of those around me would eventually rub off. That never happened. About the only thing I could drum up excitement about was the post-CASINO ROYALE re-teaming of Daniel Craig and Eva Green (turns out in the first film, they don't even have a scene together). I'm always curious about what Nicole Kidman is up to, but I don't think things have reached true excitement level for her work in many years. Director Chris Weitz made a great little film a few years back called ABOUT A BOY, but other than showing a gift for getting great performances out of young actors, nothing about that film forecast how well he might do in a big-budget, special-effects-driven work. Cautious optimism was the best I could muster as I attended the screening of this film.

Turns out my instincts on this film were right on the money. For all of the twisting plotlines, CGI animals, eccentric characters and big names THE GOLDEN COMPASS throws at us, the film is a decidedly mediocre fantasy film. There were ideas going on here that I really liked, but the way this movie seems to rush through the details turned me off to any sense of magic and wonder I wanted to feel. Young newcomer Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra is quite good, but even her ability to decipher and use the titular compass to help her get out of tight situations seemed like cheating. We never see her figure out how to use the object, and once she does, she uses it over and over again to save herself, rather than, you know, using her cunning or intellect.

The film's plot seems borrowed from other, far better fantasy works (the voice work of Ian McKellen as the ice/polar bear Iorek doesn't help discourage such thinking). The other way the film feels like a cheat is that Craig, Green and Kidman aren't in the film very much. Granted, there are hints that their roles will be expanded in the coming two parts of this trilogy, but plastering their faces and names over every trailer, billboard and print ad for this movie gives us certain expectations.

But unmet expectations aren't what bothered me most about THE GOLDEN COMPASS. No, the real trouble is that there is zero character development, and I never really cared who lived or died during the course of this film. There were a couple exceptions. Sam Elliott is wonderful as the seemingly misplaced cowboy Lee Scoresby, who puts Lyra in touch with Iorek, an outcast bear that longs to battle the king of the snow bears, Ragnar (voiced by Ian McShane), once more. Their beautifully staged fight scene is the best this film has to offer, if only for its shocking payoff. And I liked the idea that all humans in this alternative but similar universe to our own have their souls manifesting themselves as animal companions.

I figured the true test of this film's worth would be whether it inspired me to read Philip Pullman's “His Dark Materials” trilogy. It did not. This tale of missing children and talking animals and the mysterious Dust and warped ways of thinking about science and religion might be wondrous on the printed page, but as a film it's largely a failure. The bad guys are a little too obviously bad, while the good guys are simply boring and hopelessly white-bread. The main reason I'm even a little curious about the next two films (assuming they make them) is that I think they'll be better works assuming the stories are more compelling and dig a little deeper into these characters. The last 10 minutes of THE GOLDEN COMPASS consists of the audience being told what still needs to be done in the next two films. Take my word that there is nothing more thrilling the being read aloud the outline of two book sequels. In a season that has given and will continue to give us so many great films, there had to be a misfire in the batch somewhere, I guess. Welcome to it.

Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com